cheap vodka is never a good idea

last night was the office christmas shindig...the booze was a flowin and I was not a knowin too many peeps so I ignored the cheap rail vodka they were making my drinks with...and have been paying for it...

but on a more blissful note...



on days like this...



there really is no place better than this...which led to a day on my macbook searching for something cozy with my feet still screaming from much too much standing around in my sparkly Jimmy Choos and I scored this Eileen Fisher (at a fraction of the price)



and trying to convince myself that Tory Burch flats are so worth splurging on...sigh...

*the bliss project*

A challenge. Forgoing the excuses that I do not have a good camera, that I am too stressed, that the only photo editing software I have came with my mac book...there is something blissful in the raw, natural colors...So I am embarking on a challenge to myself to try to find something bliss inducing to post every day. Lofty.

The above shot is one I refer to in my head, as "last gasp." I took that along a hike around the reservoir one of those days when fall was a clinging on for just a second longer, before the grey came in and massacred all the color from the trees. It was a day when it was crisp enough for the ever trusty cable knit but not so cold you needed a jacket. There was still color everywhere. The last hurrah...

all by myself

Another perfect east coast summer day. Cool enough to turn off the AC and open all of the huge windows in the treehouse and let some fresh air in. I arose early and decided to take in a 930 am yoga class...blissful, very meditative; wonderful start to the day. And I committed. I bought my 10 class pass, which we really cant afford right now, but RSB and I decided that I should put part of my raise towards things that enrich me on both the physical and soul level, especially since I have cut all of that out since RSB has been between jobs. I was grateful to be able to reconnect with my breath. My body is far from yoga shape but starting to practice again is the only way I am going to get there.

After class I came home to a still snoozing RSB and had a smoothie and some organic eggs on apple oat toast and just relished in the blissful calm waves coursing through my body. Then decided to do a mineral soak, slathering Mario Badescu Cucumber mask on my face, lighting some incense and candles and letting the hot fragrant water soak my muscles. Very peaceful, relaxing day...

Now here I am, 830 on a Saturday night, bored as hell. RSB is at a Ravens preseason game with his brother. Recently I have become ultra aware of how far away from my friends I actually am. All of my friends out here are actually his friends. So when RSB is off, doing his own thing, sometimes I become quite aware of actually how alone I am. Which usually doesnt bother me. I enjoy solitude at times. But then there comes those restless evenings where I just want to be anywhere but inside. Of course driving to an unfamiliar part of the city late at night to meet him after the game isn't really sounding too appealing...

So here I am, laying on my 1000 thread count sheets, listening to the crickets song, feeling the cool breeze rustling the curtains, kitty purring away next to me...and with al this soothing calmness I am completely amped and restless and have nothing to exert my energy into...not even a run since my ipod pooped out on me...

I should be cleaning up the place, finally finishing that final 10% of the unpacking, but thats even more unappealing than laying here...maybe sugar free redbulls late in the evening isnt exactly the greatest idea...

om

So after much searching I have found it...yoga bliss. I was starting to feel like Goldilocks out here...nothing quite fit. And then bam, right across the street, a spa/yoga studio, which is the most blissinducing place I have been in a while...excluding the beach of course.

Lately I have been really disconnected on a mind-body-spirit level. I think about it, fret about, constantly. I silently watch myself eating foods which are not nourishing. I sit on my ass most of the day, too lazy to do anything except play on my macbook or watch tv and be a lazy stoner with RSB. An inner voice screams out, "another beautiful day, wasted" as I make excuses such as, I worked all week, I spent the last 2 weeks in school, its hot out, blah blah blah blah...finally sick of it, this weekend I treked out to the NCR Trail, which runs right behind my house for 20 miles, all the way to Pennsylvania. Very earthy, woodsy, wonderful. Wishing I had a bike...So I drug RSB and we wandered for a few miles, him not very happy to be there, me blissin out, feeling the earth under my feet. Last night he was spinning in Baltimore so I ventured out on my own and put in about 3 miles before the grumbling clouds scared me back to my car. And it felt good to get out in nature and move.

Then tonight, still high on my workout kick I decided to explore Ojas across the street. Bliss from the first second you walk in the door. A nice long shivasna, allowing me to reconnect to my body, to my mat. Already the soreness is setting in but the total blissed out vibe I have been feeling for the last few hours is drowning that out. After a good yoga practice everything seems so much more beautiful, sensations amplified. I am so happy I have found a place just to bliss out...

namaste

lazy weekends...

School is finally done, thank god, and I have been back to work for a week, putting all my new insurance knowledge to work. Although the subject of insurance doesn't exactly move me, I love my job. I have satisfaction in what I am doing. I am well aware that I am not exactly living out my novelist living in a cottage by the sea ambitions (yet) but in the meantime, I am ever so grateful to be working where I am.

Money has been a little tight, so we have been getting creative with entertainment. Yesterday me and RSB hiking the NCR trail for a bit, which I am looking forward to doing again today. Apparently the East Coast dog days of August are giving us a brief reprieve from the heat and allowing us to go outside and enjoy the day. It feels so refreshing to have the earths energy pulsing under my feet again.

RSB is still snoozing peacefully as I tap away on the Macbook, drinking delicious fresh organic oj, listening to the owls and birds getting ready for their days. Soon I will tip toe in the bedroom and shower my love with kisses, hoping to awaken him and hopefully convince him to come shopping for some paints and hopefully cover a bit more of the NCR trail and get some pictures...there has always been the itch in my fingers, in my soul, to capture some of the beauty of the everyday moments in this wonderful life. As of late, I have found myself settling into lazy tv watching mode and I hate it. Now that our studio is almost set up, hopefully I will begin creating again, as now there is space to create...

Off to wake up RSB and hopefully venture out...

..the worst student ever

So i am slacking, big time. Morseso than usual. I have excuses, I swear. Plenty of excuses of why I am not studying for my upcoming 2 weeks of classes and tests...plenty of excuse, very valid points in fact... But truth be told, I think I am slacking mostly because I think the subject matter is quite dull.

Yes I admit it. I would rather be reading something else, which I have been doing most of the weekend. Blazingly hot and sticky humid here on the Atlantic Coast. Fueled by an almond mocha blended, putting some last minture touches on the treehouse. It really is starting to come together and I am quite excited about my newly paired down closet/wardrobe. The imensity of my wardrobe was seriously daunting. As much as I love fashion, I gave in, getting rid of at least a third of my clothing. The closet is in order, the shoes are another story but I shall get around to it when I can...

RSB is feeling very restless without tv. I am the opposite, I find it much more relaxing without a constant stream of Law and Order or Orioles games running in the background.

It all ties in with the serenity that I am trying to achieve. Calm, peaceful, stressfree zone which is conducive for creating. We went out and bought RSB some sketch books and pencils today. The guitars are propped up around the office, begging to be played. He has a large countertop for tee shirt design. My workstation isnt completely in place but I'm not stressin it...this insurance class will completely tie up the next 2 weeks of my life.

So off to bed for some much needed shut eye. Tomorrow is my first day of school!!! I'm not nervous in the bit, nor have I put much thought into my outfit, very odd for me. Usually I have the first weeks clothing mapped out...I think more than anything, I'm just too tired to sweat the small things...

29 and holding...

I'm amost 30. This scares me a little...ok this scares me a lot. I feel older than I should most days. Less than 9 months left until the big day rolls around. Friends who are either pregnant, engaged, married are constantly saying things like "this is the age we're SUPPOSED to be (fill in the blank with pregnant, engaged, married) and act like I am insane not be embracing their particular timeline. Then I realize that by 30, my grandmother had been married for 12 years and was the mother of 6. Scary.

So, although I am in no rush to be pregnant, married, engaged quite yet, there are a few things I would like to have under my belt by the big 3-0...

I would like to at least eat vegan/raw most of the week. My body just feels so much more efficient when I am eating well. My hair is so much shinier, my skin is clear and soft. I actually have energy that is not supplemented by 3+ cups of java a day. Before the move I went out and bought a juicer. The fridge is now stocked with fresh fruits and veggies, plenty of teas and kombucha and my purse is filled with Lara Bars for a quickie work breakfast. I am resolving to (on most days) only eat fruit before noon. I am going to start bringing brown steamed rice with beans to go along with my fresh salads at lunch. RSB is very opposed to cutting back on his carnivorous ways so he may be fending for himself more often than he is used to. I have been feeling very disattached from my body for far too long.

I want to make my home into a sanctuary. This truly appears to be quite the feat, as I sit here lazily wishing the bags and boxes would unpack themselves. I want to create a space that inspires both relaxation and creativity for both myself and RSB. I would like to get back to my writing and RSB needs to get back to his art. So we need to create a blissed out little boho den to get the creative juices a flowing in our office. I'm picturing blissful dank meals with good company and heady wine in the fall, when the leaves comprising our treehouse start to darken and become vibrant burgandies and firey oranges. A closet that is organized and spare, as opposed to the overflowing disaster that my closets usually are. A kitchen where I get to experiment with vegan yummy recipes and show RSB that veggies can be tasty.

I want to get back to yoga. Plain and simple. At least 3 days a week.

I want to master my occupation. No, being an insurance specialist is not my dream job. But I love my company and my wrk is satisfying in a strange way. So while I am being an insurance diva guru, I want to be the best damn insurance diva guru I can be. Which is why I am going to school for the next two weeks to get another insurance designation, while I am currently home studying for my ACSR.

A few achievable little goals to add to my neverending list...

Each day, each minute, each second in which you are still breathing, is a chance to turn it all around, start over again...like right now...and now...and now...off to grab some heady organic strawberry lemonade before I get started on the closet...

~with hope

our treehouse

So we did it. We moved. We got the hell out. And damn does it feel good to sit here on my laptop, surrounded by bags and boxes, in front of my floor to ceiling windows which kitty loves so much, and just EXHALE...

The last three weeks have definitely been a whirlwind of activity. Lots of traveling, lots of packing, tons of carrying...there was the annual trip to Ocean City Nj with lots of walks on the beach and cold brews. Then there was our weekend jaunt to Raleigh NC to see Tom Petty and Steve Winwood. We stayed at RSB's parents place, which is an oasis situated behind a country club. Palm trees surround the oversized pool, nestled between more tall ancient trees. RSB's mother was constantly making alcoholic rainbow hued snowballs and the dank stoner food which RSB loves so much. Fresh fruit for me. Lying in an innertube, icy drink in my hand in the scorching NC sun, brought me a bit of the blissful relaxation that I so desperately needed,

Of course, being OCNJ reaffirmed for both myself and RSB that we need to move to a sleepy beach town within the next couple of years. We both crave to be by the sea, living life at a much more relaxed pace than we have of late. The only other place I would consider moving to is Tahoe. Nature-wise, it may be one of the most beautiful places in the country, Definately the most beautiful place I have ever been. If it weren't for RSB, I honestly believe that I would have moved there after leaving corporate hell. I just love having the missing half of my soul (RSB) too much to ever consider leaving him, even for paradise.

So here is where we ended up, freshly moved into our treehouse in the clouds. Leaves hang in front of all windows, a large beautiful tree is ingeniously placed in front of our enormous deck, which offers ultimate privacy. We are on the corner of the building so the back half of our place (the bedroom and the office) look out into enormous woods, where we saw a deer nibbling grass on the first day here. Fall is going to be amazing out here, I can tell already. And its only a mile jaunt to Wegmans and even less to the wellness center where I am about to start yoga classes. There are ridiculous amounts of hiking trails around here, I cant wait to get unpacked and really dig into them...

Can I? Dare I even utter it? I think for the first time, in a long time, life is good...

i hope you'll undertsand...

i love you without knowing how,
or when,
or from where.
i love you straightforwardly,
without complexities or pride;
so i love you because i know no other way...

~pablo neruda~

when i say that something...

Right now I have taken to sitting directly on the deck in an attempt to catch a wireless signal on my mac book. All the technical problems we have faced living here are maybe the thing I will miss least (besides the ants). I always thought to myself that I could totally live without my computer, without the tv. A simple life. Which I can, for the most part. But knowing you've paid your roommates for said services and that they decided to spend said money elsewhere...well, enough said. The move is exactly two weeks away and we are being such slackers. Nothing is packed except the stuff I never unpacked upon my move down here in January. I guess deep down I knew that I would not last long in this place. This black hole of no wireless signals...

Last night I convinced rockstar boyfriend a twilight stroll along the water was in order. Rockstar boyfriend is feeling stressed about my utter disgust regarding our living situation and is eager to move on (to the apartment he loved so much that he immediately decided that there was no need to look anywhere else) And he is quite understanding about my overwhelming need to start fresh in a place that is not teeming with negative energy...a fresh clean start, a new palette to create for our life together...and ever so patient when I decide I must capture the twilight fishers in just the right light...

We both keep putting off the inevitable purging. Even though we will both have our own walk-in closets along with plenty of other storage space, I want both of us to get rid of at least 25% of our clothing. We have so much, which always results in clutter, this having more than we need. Moving is the perfect time to declutter, to simplify. Our lifestyles, our possessions, our diets. A current preoccupation with purity, if you couldnt tell already...

To getting back to basics.

Simplifiction.

An attempt to escape that dorning feeling that has been engulfing me for years.

A chance to always feel as I do, when I reconnect with Mother Earth, barefeet in the grass, face up to the sun, heart filled with bliss.

The fix I so crave.

The bliss junkie that I am...

~gracefully

whats rockin my socks

God Makes the Rivers to Flow ~ Eknath Easwaran

Kiehls Creme with Silk Groom



Vanilla Tulsi Tea

Found Sea Glass and Brass Necklaces

Peace Train ~ Natalie Merchant

Mini Ocean City NJ Vacation with Rockstar Boyfriend

Ultra baggy perfect linen pants from Target

Pefect Filmy white Eileen Fisher sweater

The new season of Weeds

~*~

new soul~

~Lead me from the unreal to the real
Lead me from the darkness to the light
Lead me from death to immortality~
...taken from The Upanishads

Its been a long time since I have felt like I can just breathe...
Theres too much clutter, too many things...
Too many fatty unhealthy foods instead of the nourishing dankness that my body craves...
Too much hatred in my heart, not enough love...too much anger, not enough calm...
A cleanse is what I need. A deep spring cleaning of every inch of my being, down to the very depths of my soul. There is no better time than the present, no better moment than this. There will be a massive purge before the move. I plan on getting rid of almost half of my belongings. Rockstar boyfriend and I need the fresh start. Too many ghosts, too much hostility, too much saddness in this dank hole. Echoes of the neglected child upstairs, his unhappy tantrums, his sad childhood. I struggle with decisions on what is right, what should be done; when in reality the answer is quite clear. It is just not the path of least resistance which I seem to seek out lately...
My body is tired. Aching, I go to bed earlier and earlier and feel less and less refreshed when I wake up in the morning. The food I have been eating leaves me with a sick nausea in the pit of my stomach. I make excuses, like I dont want to cook anything in that kitchen with the ant infestation. I will cook when I get a kitchen that isnt likely to catch on fire and other such statements. Rockstar boyfriend is happy, this means easy meals like mac and cheese and hamburger helper and burgers. My living situation is only part of the problem.
For months I have been overfeeding my body and starving my soul.
I havent found a yoga class out here. I am checking out a class near my new home on Wednesday. The last one I went to was the furthest thing from spiritual. It was like yoga bootcamp on speed. This was the first yoga class that I wished was over before I was even 10 minutes into it...I've never felt so fat and inadequate in all my life...
I have been living amongst clutter for far too long. I feel like I am drowning.
I think a detoxifying diet is called for.
A calming weekend in Ocean City, then back for a 4 day holiday next week.
To gather my thoughts before the move, to calm my soul.

~*~

I read and walked for miles at night along the beach,
writing bad blank verse and searching endlessly for someone wonderful who would step out of the darkness
and
change
my
life.

It never crossed my mind that that person could be me.

Anna Quindlen

clarity

I've taken to wearing a very stark palet.

White, Black, Dark Gray, dusty blues and dusty roses, creams...baggy flowing fabrics...mostly what I refer to as my beachy chica clothes. Flowy Eileen Fisher tops, oversized linen pants, mostly barefoot, tired of doing battle with the humidity in the apartment, usually without makeup, hair a curly mess.

I am slowly easing back into the UltraSimple Diet plan...going back to roots...simple to digest, pure, nourishing foods. No caffeine, always a hard one for me, being the java junkie that I am.

My body is screaming for simplification. I daydream about closets and storage and space. My current living situation stress is manifesting itself into every aspect of my life. Feeling overwhelmed last night, suffocated, I grabbed my camera and keys and drove down to the reservoir, enjoying a cooly breezy perfect dusk...

Driving, blissing out to Rachael Brady, I glanced over to seat next to me, and took in all the gadgets accompanying me on my "escape." Ipod, camera, cell phone/palm...all gadgets which are always in my possession...with a touch of a button, a slide of a wheel, a tap on a screen, I have instant internet connection, playlists of my favorite jams, hundreds of pictures, my agenda, my work email...how can one simplify, when one is so attached?

Dressed in white, toes loving the grass tickling under my Rainbows, I wandered besides the water, watching the fisherman, so oblivious, wading in the water, which is reflecting the orange of the sunset.

I found a rock, took to a yogi squat and was there, precisely in that moment. In that exact time and place, with no thoughts to the past, no frets about the future. Merely "being here now." I looked down to the water and right below the rock was a fish, just staring up at me. He was a big guy to, a catch to make any fisherman proud. And I just sat there and we just looked at each other, perfectly still. The went on for the duration of the sunset. I was so calm and my head was clear.

Blissfully I slowly wandered back to my car, amidst the artists painting the view, the lovers holding hands, the children and dogs wading in the water. I took the long way home, enjoying every blissful second with this cheesy ass grin on my face, determined in what I was going to do. I drove myself to Whole Foods and stocked up on some organic goodies for my detoxification. My body, my soul, my mind...all need to be healed. Enriched. Nourished. I am exhausted all the time. It seems like instead of the blissful everyday magical moments to which I should be devoting my energy, I choose to dwell on the shitty draining things. And I really don't want to waste even another fraction of a second with those vampires...

Splendid Isolation

More often than not, I find comfort in solitude.

Walking deserted beaches first thing in the morning...

Hiking deep into woods, far outside of any cell zone...

Swimming out far into the water and just floating...

I look over the desolate wilderness up in the mountains of Tahoe and imagine what it would be like just to wander and know true silence...

Walking in the freshly falling snow, high above sea level, surrounded by the kind of cold that takes your breath away, wind stinging your face, and feeling so peaceful...

A perfect day...

It was February and we decided to go to the beach. Isolated beach towns suit me just fine, I love the rawness of the elements and the emptiness. And the bone chilling cold of standing on the beach, entranced by the waves. Gray. Peaceful.

We booked an ocean front room in a hotel room like every other beach hotel room up and down the coast. We opened the doors to the sea and let the salty air filled the room, the sounds of waves violently crashing upon the shore. We sat there, silent. Mesmerized. Silently sipping our glasses, his usual captain and diet and myself a heady red.

The only time I really can stand going to Ocean City, MD is in the offseason. Its quiet and relaxing and not annoyingly overcrowded with drunken frat brats and scantily clad sorostitutes. I love throwing on my uggs and old jeans and well worn fishermans sweater, tying a long scraf around my neck, and wandering along the boards, watching the water. Rockstar boyfriend loves OC in the summertime. When it is pulsing with bodies, all trying to cram into the allready overcrowded bars, the already overcrowded beaches, 8 people to a hotel room. We balance each other out in that sense. We both crave opposite ends of the spectrum and always meet somewhere in the middle...



The next morning we rose early, faces cold, bodies warm snuggled under piles of blankets, listening to waves lap against the shore. Grudgingly we got dressed, bodies blissed out beyond words, relaxed to perfection. Grabbing our sunglasses, him his signature aviators, myself my classic Chanels and braved the chilly beach morning, instantly waking up our still sleepy bodies. We went to a quaint beachy restraunt which served piping hot coffee, strong, the way both of us like it. We both went for the house special breakfast, Lump Crab Eggs Benedict, our favorite. Our deadhead waiter chatted with us about music, in no rush, the offseason has a completely relaxed, less rushed vibe. Rockstar boyfriend and waiter traded a few tour stories, while I slowly lavished over my piping hot, deliciously warming coffee, watching the sun play on the water. Watching rockstar boyfriend, out of the corner of my eye, speak passionately about the his music and his band. Feeling so in love, so blissed out...

After breakfast, we walked in the cold February sun. We went to the funkiest little art gallery I have ever seen, spending hours digging through the piles of art, wandering through the mazes of painting and prints, finally agreeing on 4 painting for our walls, all framed in driftwood. Walking down the boardwalk, amidst the closed shops, feeling the sun on our faces, the salt in our hair, on our lips, silently holding hands.

We stayed and watched the sun set on the bay. Our drive home was dark and peaceful, jamming to the Dead, Michael Franti, Paul Simon, the Weepies, Warren Zevon and such. A perfectly blissful weekend before I started my new job.

I'm thinking back on that weekend, sweating in my crowded, starting to get packed up, un-air conditioned apartment in 90 degree heat. Looking at the piles of clothes on the floor, slacking on folding and sorting. I swear I just felt that cool ocean breeze on my skin...

~with sweaty grace

Whats Rockin My Socks...

Moving to my new apartment

Eileen Fisher

Honest Tea Pomegranate Red Tea with Goji Berry

Soulshine ~ Warren Haynes

Chick Rocker Lit

Simply Vera line

Anthropologie

Sexxxy rockstar boyfriends voice when he sings

My perfect Bergdorf dress for a Santa Barbara wedding

Deepak, for saying this:

~The way of peace is a soul journey. . . .
If you can live from the level of your soul, you are doing something very special. The important thing is how much consciousness you add to the whole of human existence,
for that is how eternity expresses itself,
like a lamp shining through the window of eternity~

Sea Glass

Rainbow sunsets that wash the sky in pinks, magentas, plums, burgundys and purples

Found art, framed in driftwood, on a rainy ocean city day in the funkiest art gallery on the planet


~with thanks

Corporate Diva to...Happy

About this time last year I made one of the toughest decisions of my life. While evaluating my life, I realized that I had everything I thought I wanted. An extremely well-paying job, a gorgeous overpriced apartment, a cool vehicle, nice clothes and accessories and a rockstar boyfriend who loved me, wholeheartedly. All I was missing from my perfect life was my beach house...oh and a little thing called bliss...

I was in insurance sales for the one of the largest companies in the world. And I was very successful. But everyday after work I would get in my car and cry. Bawl my eyes out the whole way to my deluxe apartment in the sky. And I was becoming mean. I was really starting to despise people. And myself. So I made a choice, one that I have never regretted. I walked away. With no other job lined up. Just walked away. It was either that or lose my soul. I chose the path which was most blissful and certainly least taken. I lived off the money I had saved for my beach house until February of this year, when I found my current blissful company, a company that actually has yoga Fridays until summertime and then its just halfday Fridays.

Of course, in a perfect world, I would not be working in insurance. My passion is writing. A passion which I have been surpressing these last couple of years. Its been so long since I have actually looked forward to going to work in the morning. But I have found this with the current insurance job. Sometimes a girl just has to pay the bills while pursuing her passion in her spare time. Thats the path I am on right now.

With the upcoming move I have decided I need to simplify...didnt someone, maybe Thoreau say, "when you simplify your life, the world becomes simpler." Well I am staring out at a big ol complicated mess which vaguely resembles my life. I think its in there somewhere under the clothes and purses and pottery barn throw pillows and shoes and beauty products. Just need to dig it out...

It just may take a little longer than I want it to, to locate it in all that rubble.

Rollin my sleeves on up.

Diggin on it.

~with hope~

*josie*

This is Josie.

She is a dumpster kitty who was rescued by friends of ours this winter. Don't even get me started on the type of people who leave 2 little kittens in a box next to a dumpster in the middle of an East Coast winter. As a result, she definately has abandonment issues. She is a complete love bug, though, cuddle puss, who actually has conversations with you. She literally responds when you ask her a question with one of her dozens of different meows.

Rockstar boyfriend has actually trained her to jump from the floor up to his chest when he pats himself.

Now if I can just get her to sit still for pictures...



Josie and Paul on the way to Carolina...

moving on...

This last year has been a twirly whirly storm of changes, picking me up, spinning me around, leaving me a bit disoriented...

I have not been able to find any kind of peace in my new home. At first, I rolled up my sleeves and dove in, fully believing that I could make Paul's apartment livable. Goodnaturedly (as always) Paul catered to each decorating whim that was tossed his way. Friends were shocked at how drastic of an improvement came along in such a short time. Yet, still I was unable to find that sense of tranquility that I so desperately longed for. I could blame it on the constant parade of ants marching across the kitchen wall. The bathroom that never dries. The drains that never really drain. The upstairs neighbors who basically define the phrase "neighbors from hell." The energy has always been off; no amount of smudging or incense burning or lovely art or crystals strategically placed in an attempt to create harmony could remedy this...

We are moving.

In a month.

To a very chill super cute community called Loveton Farms, far outside the city limits. As soon as I drove around the community I knew this was where my much needed serenity could be found.

Rockstar boyfriend has been stellar about the entire situation. Even though the move will virtually double our rent, he knows how much I despise where we are residing now. Lucky chica I am to have someone who understands my need for a harmonious atmosphere. It is a rather large top floor apartment overlooking the woods and about a mile from some of the kewlest hiking trails around. I am definately getting a bike :-)



We've been watching a lot of sunsets lately. Both of us are such beach bums and the $4/gallon gas has been keeping us pretty close to home lately. I dream of the ocean. I want to smell the salt, have squishy cold sand running between my toes, feeling the breeze that immediately brings curl to my hair. We have been making do with the reservoir. Vacation unfortunately will pretty much need to be bypassed this year. Only a few days with my family on our annual Ocean City NJ outing...I am so bummed. I walk on the beach for hours, just communing with the ocean. Standing in it in the early sun, freezing cold waves lapping up my calves. Absorbing as much calming energy as I can. This is the most effectual way of entering a state of ZEN for me...

Hopefully my new home will help accomplish that...

And soon we will move to the ocean...

~with grace

A Very Blissul Moment

There is nothing a bliss junkie loves more than traveling, seeing new things, living a different life for a bit...and when one has an 8-4 job 5 days a week, sometimes the only way to accomplish this is through the imagination...

Oh my love affair with good books...my boyfriend has yet to comprehend why I would rather spend an hour (or two) after work with this lover, who steals my precious afterwork time from him...

food...

I love food. To me there are very few pleasures that equal a good meal with good company. While I was "on hiatus" for the previous six months I chose to indulge...Paul and myself went out to eat 4, maybe 5 times a week. Cream of Crab soup, She-Crab soup, crabcakes, pasta, buttercream frosting snowballs...no whim did I abstain from. Now I find myself unable to button my work clothes from 6 months before and venturing towards...(ominous music)...the woman's department. It is impossible to be blissful with an extra 30 lbs on your frame...

So I have begun training to climb Mt Tallac in Lake Tahoe California. It is an 8 hours hike roundtrip and is apparently fairly difficult...but oh the views...



I have until the end of July/beginning of August. I am joining Weight Watchers. Getting a trainer at least once a week. And hiking. I drug poor Paul along for a reservoir hike with me yesterday...5 miles!!! But damn am I aching now. And of course the ribeye (and acai juice) I downed after the fact didnt really help my cause...a bliss junkie unfortunately loves to satisfy all her cravings which means this girl needs to grab some control and QUICK.